


Daily Demon Dealings

by Varewulf



Series: Ruby The Demon Summoner [2]
Category: Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demon Summoning, F/F, Ruby is quite gay, Yohane - Freeform, Yuri, demon Maru, sort of yuri
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-06
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2018-12-24 16:03:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12016212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varewulf/pseuds/Varewulf
Summary: A lot of people talk about having an angel and a devil on their shoulder, but for Ruby it's something a little more literal.Alternate universe where Ruby had no friends, there was no idol club, and she decided to go to extreme lengths to get a friend.





	1. Sharing The Story

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this was originally intended to be a one-shot sequel, then I realised I had too many ideas to comfortably fit into just a single story chapter. So I'm going to make it a mini-series instead.  
> I can make no promises as to how long the following chapters will each be. I have an idea for what I want each of them to be, and we'll just see how it spins from there.  
> The current plan is four chapters, but I feel it's too early to set that in stone yet. I've been wrong about my estimates several times.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting used to her new friends is a difficult, and sometimes scary task. But Ruby hopes to make it work.  
> She also feels an urge to tell someone, anyone about what's happened. So where better than the internet?

_After one week_ :

" _And now I have an unusual succubus and a fallen angel staying in my room_."

Ruby had posted a rough description of the events to the forum of the site that had been the most helpful in getting her ready for the summoning. She had actually cobbled everything together from a small handful of sites, but this was the biggest one. After the success (for a certain definition of success) of the ritual, she had wanted to share the story.

It had taken some effort to write it such that it didn't give too much away. Yohane had reluctantly agreed to help, after first saying that there was no way Ruby could tell anyone about this. After about a day of pleading she had given in. There was no way anyone was going to find out who they were, or where they were, from the text. Yohane claimed she had cast a spell on the computer so it couldn't be traced remotely either, but Ruby had no idea if such a thing was possible. That was far beyond her level of knowledge.

The post had gone up last night before she had gone to bed, so she figured she'd look at the comments today. There hadn't been time before school, but now she was too eager to think about anything else. Homework would have to wait until afterwards. She opened the browser, and clicked on the tab.

" _That's bullshit_ ," said the very first comment. While Ruby agreed it was hard to believe, that was a rather rude way of putting it. Also the timestamp said it was posted a minute after she posted the story, and she thought it unlikely that someone could read that quickly.

" _Pics or it didn't happen!_ " Ruby had wanted to take pictures of Maru and Yohane (not to post, just to have for herself), but Yohane absolutely wouldn't budge on that one. Absolutely no photos of her or Maru. She swore to burn any camera that tried it, and Ruby didn't want to risk losing her phone.

" _Have you fucked yet?_ " It took Ruby a second to realise what this was referring too, and then her ears turned pink. Maru was certainly very attractive, as it was in her very nature to be so, even with her non-human features. Some people would probably feel those added to her appeal. But this seemed like a dangerous thing to consider. Besides Ruby had no experience, and would probably just make a fool of herself, and Maru might eat her... it was probably best to stop thinking about this altogether.

Then there was some long diatribe about how angels and demons didn't exist, how all of this was extremely impossible, how they were all fools for believing it, and so on. Ruby had to wonder why people like that would go to forums about demons and summoning. Wouldn't they rather like to do something fun?

" _Send nudes_." Whether this was another request for pictures of Maru and Yohane, or just a general thing this person posted to women online, was a little unclear.

Maybe Ruby should have known better than to expect much from internet comments. She had just thought that considering the community, they would have been more open towards believing this. The desire to tell someone was strong, so long as that someone was not Dia. Ruby sighed deeply. At least it wasn't all bad. There were some encouraging messages.

Getting used to the two demonic denizens wasn't easy, but Ruby was trying her best. Maybe they were just her friends because she had wished for it, but they could grow to become real friends, right? The alternative was asking them to go back home. She felt sure Yohane would respect that, and take Maru along with her. That might be the smart thing to do. But then Ruby would be alone again.

Sometimes the two of them would actually be gone for a little while, though Ruby didn't know where they went. Yohane said it was against the rules to tell her, and Maru wasn't any more interested in opening up either. In which case it was probably best to not pursue it. Getting a bit of time to herself wasn't such a bad thing when it wasn't all the time.

Suddenly she got embraced, and something soft pressed against the back of her head. "Ruby-chan, I need cuddles~" Maru had come back, and Ruby jumped a little.

"M-Maru-chan, you startled me." Since Ruby hadn't been paying attention, she wasn't sure if she had been there for a while, or if they'd just gotten back. If Maru was here, then Yohane was probably back too. So now Ruby's head was being pressed against Maru's soft bosom again. Maru really liked doing that, and Ruby felt a little ashamed of how much she had come to enjoy it too. Along with being nuzzled on the top of her head.

She had gotten somewhat used to Maru's outrageous outfit already, far more than she would have thought possible a week ago. The material it was made from fascinated her a little. It looked a bit like latex, or maybe some sort of leather depending on how you viewed it. But it felt far too soft. Not that she had spent a lot of time purposefully feeling it or anything, it was just that with how much close contact Maru wanted, it was hard to avoid. No matter how much Maru squeezed her, the material never chafed or felt uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry, but it was necessary to feel your softness right away, zura," Maru said while rubbing her cheek against Ruby's hair. As if that was a fact. Ruby thought Maru was the soft one, though. It wasn't the first time Maru had suddenly hugged onto her, but it was hard to get used to. It didn't feel bad, but she had to wonder why Maru kept saying it was 'necessary'.

"Y-you're sure you're not... um... d-draining my life force?" she asked as the demon's wings gently wrapped around her like a coat. Making it hard to use the computer. They were also much softer than they looked, and had surprised Ruby the first time she felt them.

"Of course I'm not," Maru assured her. "I may be technically evil, but I wouldn't lie to a friend, zura." Maru sounded as honest as she did cheerful, so Ruby felt a little bad that she kept asking about this. She had to admit she didn't feel drained after one of Maru's cuddle sessions, in fact she felt strangely refreshed.

"I've been monitoring her, and she speaks true." Yohane's voice came from somewhere behind them. She never objected to Maru's cuddling of Ruby, which did make Ruby feel more at ease. The fallen angel seemed fairly protective of her, so she could see why Maru kept teasing her about whether she was truly fallen or not. Yohane really didn't seem like a bad person.

"See? You can trust me, zura!" Maru's tone of voice was excessively perky. "You wouldn't be in danger even if we kissed or had sex." The sing-song way in which the succubus said that so casually threw Ruby off so much it took her a moment to react.

"K-k-k-ki-kiss?!" Ruby stuttered forth as she went bright red. She couldn't even say that other thing, and tried her very, very best to not imagine it. Which would have been easier if she hadn't read that comment earlier.

"Yup, you'd be fine, zura!" Maru giggled in her usual melodic, enchanting way. "Oh-ho, what's this? Are you blushing, Ruby-chan? Maybe... you want to try kissing me, zura?" Ruby hadn't known Maru's voice could sound so... velvety. In spite of her blush, she turned her head to look into Maru's golden eyes. The gaze that met her was sultry, and those lips looked really soft. Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea...

"No, no, no," said Yohane, who had come to break them apart. After breaking eye contact, Ruby felt like a fog was lifting from her mind. "No seducing Ruby, Zuramaru. You know she wouldn't be able to resist." Yohane sounded stern, but not necessarily angry. She was wagging a finger admonishingly at Maru, who was pouting a little. Even that looked attractive. "You should let her decide for herself if she wants that." Ruby hurriedly looked back at the monitor. That was Yohane's objection? So she wasn't opposed to... And what did she mean Ruby wouldn't be able to resist? Ruby wished there was some way she could stop blushing right now.

"Okay, okay, zura," Maru said, not sounding too bothered. "Do _you_ want it, Yohane?" She was right back to being teasing and playful. Even without looking, Ruby could imagine the smirk on the demon's face.

"W-w-wha- of course not!" Yohane's voice went high-pitched, and she walked off in a huff. Ruby could hear the feathers ruffling.

Maru quickly hugged onto Ruby again, and finally noticed the monitor. "What are you up to, zura?" she asked with keen interest.

"O-oh, I-I was just looking at the... at the comments on wha-what I posted last night," Ruby replied. A glass of water would be nice right now. There was a 'hmph' sound from Yohane in the background, maybe to show she still disapproved of this being posted at all.

"Ooo, is this the internet, zura?" Maru asked excitedly, and moved to Ruby's side to peer closer at the screen. Still keeping an arm and a wing around her. She seemed very interested in modern technology, the internet most of all. Yohane saying Maru's seduction techniques wouldn't work in long-distance communication didn't dampen her enthusiasm in the least, so there must be something else that fascinated her. Even if it was hard to figure out what.

Ruby thought Yohane seemed interested herself, but just didn't want to say so for whatever reason. She kept reading the comments to try to distract herself from how warm she was feeling.

"Are these the comments? They don't seem very nice, zura," Maru said, looking at the boxes of text Ruby was slowly scrolling through. "Why are so many saying demons don't actually exist?" she asked. Ruby had wondered the same, considering the forum. While she wasn't necessarily surprised, she was a little disappointed.

"That's how it's supposed to be," Yohane took it upon herself to answer. "If that knowledge was widely known, it would make things a lot more difficult." It sounded like she was fiddling with something back there, but Ruby wasn't really in a position to turn and look. "Even the existence of those message boards is troublesome. Creates far too many novice summoners like Ruby." She sighed deeply, and Ruby felt a little bad. It wasn't the first time she wondered if Yohane hated staying here.

"But isn't this a place to talk about demons, zura? Why would people show up just to argue? And be so very rude, zura!" Maru noticed some of the more vicious comments as Ruby kept scrolling. Not all of the comments were bad, so she was skimming to find the better ones. But a lot  of them were pretty bad.

"Um... y-yeah, that's p-pretty common for internet discourse," Ruby replied. Even having gotten used to it, she wished she hadn't needed to. Plus being used to it didn't mean she was okay with it, or that it never affected her. But she tried to focus on those who were actually interested, and actually believed her.

"These people are very mean to you. Do you want me to go eat their souls, zura?" The bubbly tone with which Maru said that didn't exactly fit the gravity of the suggestion. Before Ruby could think of anything to say, Yohane jumped to her feet.

"Aha! I knew it! You _can_ devour people!" Yohane said accusingly. She came up, and put a hand on Ruby's shoulder. Was she being protective again?

"Just because I don't need to, doesn't mean I'm not able to, zura," Maru explained quite simply. "But for my needs it's much better to keep them alive, zura." The cheerful tone didn't stop Ruby's eyes from going wide. "The soulless don't really blush, nor do they show genuine affection. No thank you, zura. Plus, Ruby-chan is my friend." To emphasise that she squeezed Ruby a little tighter. Perhaps it was also a show of defiance towards Yohane looking ready to break them up again.

"Well, you're not going to go devour anyone else for her sake, either. That's totally out of the question, no matter what they might say." Yohane stood firm in her convictions, and let go of Ruby's shoulder to fold her arms in a show of determination.

"Fine, fine," Maru said, again not seeming too bothered. She seemed far more interested in teasing Yohane. "The comments talk about you too, zura." Maru said as she looked back at the screen. There had indeed been some comments regarding the fallen angel.

"What?" Yohane glanced towards the screen, then quickly looked away. "Like I care what mortals have to say." She didn't sound very convincing, especially considering that exaggerated harrumph.

"Let's see here..." Maru started reading some of them out loud in her sing-song voice. "'Fallen angels aren't real.' 'What sort of angel would fall?' 'You can't summon an angel.' 'Angels suck, even when they're fallen.' 'More like fake angel.'" Ruby was worriedly looking over her shoulder at Yohane, and could see her starting to tremble. Suddenly she spun around.

"That's it! I'll find these puny creatures, and curse their whole family lines. For as long as I exist, all they will know is suffering!" Yohane was seething, and it looked like there was some sort of miasma forming around her. Her voice was deeper than Ruby had heard so far. Ruby slid out of the chair and slowly stepped away. Yohane's halo looked like it was enveloped in black flames that licked upwards.

"Now now, Yohane-chan," Maru said cheerfully, and straightened up to face Yohane. "Didn't you say you don't care what they say? No need to get so worked up." She seemed to be enjoying this too much. Yohane's glowing eyes fixated on Maru, and narrowed.

"Don't you dare say that... you read those out on purpose!" Yohane yelled at Maru, and Ruby desperately hoped the rest of the house couldn't hear them. The feathers on Yohane's wings were quivering, and the wings were slowly raising as if she was ready to attack Maru. With her back against the wall, it hit Ruby once again her far beyond her these two beings were. If they wanted to, they could probably wipe her out in a heartbeat. Yet for some reason she still wanted to be their friend, and she didn't want to see them fight each other either. She took a step forward.

"Um... h-hey..." she said, but it was too quiet to catch their attention. Yohane was still fixated on Maru, and Maru was just grinning, showing off her vicious-looking fangs. You could cut the tension with a knife. "Hey... HEY!" Ruby clapped her hands over her mouth, surprised at how loud she had been able to yell. The two of them both looked at her, and their expressions made her take a step back again, hitting her back against the wall. "P-please don't fight..." she managed to say, feeling the sting of tears forming. She wanted to say more, but didn't know what.

However it seemed like that was all that was needed. Yohane's expression softened, and her wings folded back down to their neutral state. "I'm sorry, Ruby," she said, looking and sounding ashamed. "I didn't mean to frighten you." It was probably obvious how scared Ruby was. The fallen angel seemed to genuinely care, even if she acted cold sometimes. A lot of the time.

"Ruby-chan... I'm sorry too, zura." Even Maru sounded genuinely apologetic. Considering how bubbly Maru was all the time, it was a little hard for Ruby to tell how Maru actually felt about her. Did she just want Ruby for... er... recharging, or did she genuinely care about Ruby as a person? At least this was an indication that she cared about not hurting Ruby. Probably.

Neither of them were looking her in the eye, or at each other.

"Just... um... d-don't do it again... please..." Ruby said. It wasn't the most impressive thing she could have said, but she wasn't very good with words when actually speaking to people. It was much easier when communicating in text.

Maru perked back up. It was hard to keep her down for long regardless. "I'll behave, zura!" she declared cheerfully.

"I'll believe that when I see it," Yohane said grumpily, side-eyeing the demon. Which basically mirrored Ruby's thoughts. Maru behaving was a strange idea, but maybe it just depended on how you defined 'behave'.

Maru childishly stuck her tongue out at Yohane, and the fallen angel in turn rolled her eyes. Thankfully that seemed to be the end of that. Ruby wiped her eyes and got back into the chair. She could tell that she was trembling, but she was slowly calming down. At this point she wasn't sure if a hug would make things better or worse, but Maru stayed away on her own accord for the moment.

So Ruby went back to looking at the forum. She had received some private messages from people who were now asking her for advice. They had also been trying to summon demons, but they hadn't been able to make it work. So they wanted to know if she could help them figure out what they were doing wrong.

Ruby wondered how she should respond, or if she should respond at all. Yohane had been very clear that Ruby had gotten lucky, and that if a demon less friendly than Maru had responded, things could have gone really badly. Most demons didn't have anyone keeping an eye on them like Yohane did with Maru either. When Ruby asked why Yohane kept an eye on Maru, the angel quickly deflected the question. Maybe she could ask again when they knew each other better.

She had a lot more information about how this worked now though. If they were anything like her, they probably wouldn't give up. Maybe Yohane would be willing to help her give them proper advice. While she didn't seem to like the idea of people summoning demons in the first place, maybe she would help if Ruby convinced her that they would keep trying until they succeeded anyway. So they could either help them do it as safely as possible, or let them eventually have an accident like Ruby. There were several stories about people who had suddenly stopped coming to the forums.

Maybe it was unfair to put Yohane in such a position. Ruby didn't want her to hate her. But she could at least ask.


	2. Confrontation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two weeks have passed, and Ruby is slowly getting accustomed to her otherworldly friends. But there are still bumps in the road.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had hoped to get this out earlier, but I was away this weekend, and pretty wiped out when I came home. Turns out that writing when you're tired can be a little difficult. I'll probably take a day or two off before I start working on the third chapter.

_After two weeks_ :

Ruby had never been tardy with her homework. She was a Kurosawa, after all. Not to mention Dia always helped keep her on track if she was close to sliding off. But she couldn't claim she got much enjoyment out of it. She could be wrong, but it always seemed like Dia got a sense of satisfaction from it, like a job well done. That didn't really apply to Ruby, at least not in terms of schoolwork. But she had to admit it was more enjoyable with friends.

Maybe it was still debatable to what extent they were genuinely friends, but Ruby had certainly grown to be more comfortable around the two supernatural beings. And she liked to think she was growing on them as well.

They had sort of naturally started helping her with her homework. Almost as if out of curiosity. Or perhaps just to have something to do. While they were vague on the subject, she gathered the two had lived for a very long time, so she wasn't sure to what extent boredom set in for them. Surely immortality had to give you some resistance towards it, but hanging out with someone who hadn't even lived for two decades yet couldn't be the most exciting thing in the world.

Yohane was the more helpful of the two. Maru was more interested in just being present and hugging Ruby, though she would occasionally chime in if it was a topic that interested her. For instance history, though her knowledge was often accompanied by stories of where she'd been, and what she'd done at the time. It sounded like appearing in the human world was a pretty frequent thing for her. When she told the stories in her sing-song voice, Ruby found it hard to pay attention to anything else. She seemed well-versed in stuff she hadn't been involved in too.

There was also her passion for music, which Ruby could understand, even if they weren't exactly interested in the same types. Ruby's tastes were more modern, while Maru's were more classical. And she almost always spoke up regarding biology. Often with far more detail than Ruby felt she needed to know. Nature was a terrifying thing.

On the other hand Yohane had a deep interest in languages, culture, and social studies. Ruby got the impression the fallen angel liked human civilisation as a whole, but her knowledge seemed to trend more modern than Maru's expertise. She had claimed she just needed to know about humans in order to do her job properly, but it felt like there was some genuine passion there. Also she wouldn't say what exactly her job was. Apparently Ruby wouldn't understand.

Yohane also displayed a level of knowledge about chemistry that had surprised Ruby. She hadn't expected either of them to be particularly into the sciences, but Yohane seemed to have a pretty good grasp on them. With chemistry being her preferred one. At least it meant Ruby got some help with math too.

Whether or not Maru knew much about science studies was hard to tell, because as with anything else Maru didn't take a personal interest in, she didn't seem to particularly care to get involved. But both of them seemed very smart to Ruby. It was more a matter of how much they bothered to stay focused. Which with Maru was often not a lot.

Currently Maru was sitting behind Ruby, and seemed very focused on playing with her hair. She was humming contently as she stroked Ruby's short twintails, and it was incredibly distracting. Especially when she gently ran her fingernails across Ruby's scalp, causing shivers to run down the redhead's spine. She hadn't written anything down in at least five minutes. Maybe ten. Maru's chest was a very good pillow, and Ruby felt close to falling asleep.

Yohane sighed. "I guess we should take a break," she said, rousing Ruby from her cuddle-induced stupor. Yohane was watching the two of them, and Ruby thought she looked a little disappointed. Or possibly tired. Suddenly very self-conscious, Ruby turned quite red. Not helped by Maru's melodic giggle, likely at Ruby's reaction.

"Uh, r-right..." Ruby slowly got up. "I... I think I'm gonna go get some juice," she said, as she was feeling quite warm. "Do you want anything?" she asked the two of them. They didn't need to eat or drink anything as far as she knew, but they still liked to do so occasionally.

"Candy!" Maru was especially fond of sweet things, and indulged more than Yohane.

"You already had some earlier. We don't need more," Yohane said without looking up from the book she'd taken out. Both her and Maru tended to read, but the books weren't in a language Ruby could understand. She wasn't even entirely sure it was a human language.

"Hm... how about some chocolate, zura?" Maru asked, grinning slightly at Yohane as the angel looked up. She had hit a weak point.

"Er... well... maybe... n-no." Yohane seemed to struggle with some inner demons in addition to Maru. It showed more on her halo than on her face. Ruby had noticed that unlike Maru's horns, Yohane's halo wasn't static. It seemed to flicker and react, as if reflecting her feelings. Though it was dark, it was still able to dim and intensify in its own way. "There's none left anyway," she said as if she suddenly remembered.

"Oh? How do you know that, zura?" Maru asked cleverly, her grin growing wider. Considering the ease with which Maru teased Yohane, Ruby had to wonder how long they'd known each other.

"Um... that's..." Yohane hurriedly shifted her gaze to Ruby. "A-anyway, we don't need anything, Ruby. But thank you for asking." The way Yohane smiled at her made Ruby feel a little strange in a way she couldn't explain or fully understand. Maybe that was just a fallen angel's influence.

"O-okay," Ruby said, and opened the door. "I'll... um... b-be back soon." She thought she had gotten better at not stuttering, but when she became all flustered like this it all seemed to come back. Heading down the corridor, she hoped her face would cool down soon.

Explaining this to her family had gone smoother than Ruby had dared hope for, thanks to Yohane's magic. When her parents or Dia looked at Maru and Yohane, they only saw two normal Japanese girls. Ruby was exempt from the illusion, though Yohane had showed her what it looked like. However it was hard to keep the image of two pretty, but not unusual girls in her mind, when she still saw them with wings, horns, halo, and otherworldly beauty.

For some reason the illusion worked opposite of how she had seen in stories. In mirrors she saw their illusory forms, it was only when looking directly at them with her own eyes that she saw their real appearances. As if the illusion took into account that it needed to fool reflections, and Ruby only saw what the mirror saw. Or maybe it was their 'real' forms that actually were the fake ones? It made her head hurt a little if she thought about it too hard.

Dia still didn't entirely trust the story of Ruby just suddenly having two friends from school that she had never told her about, but to Ruby's relief at least she hadn't made a fuss about it. It's not like they were there every day, and they went home at night. That was more of Yohane's spells making it seem that way. Her and Maru made a show of 'going home', then came right back into Ruby's room, only now they were invisible to everyone else. Sometimes they were invisible for whole days to maintain the idea that they weren't there all the time. A couple of times they'd done 'official' sleepovers.

And of course there were the times they genuinely went away to wherever they wouldn't tell Ruby about. Since Yohane had now deemed it 'safe' for Ruby to be alone with Maru, sometimes only one of them would be gone. Ruby still worried a little that they wouldn't come back whenever both of them vanished.

Ruby felt bad about lying like this, but she didn't feel like there was a choice. Part of her expected to be found out any day now. So when Dia appeared while she was in the kitchen, Ruby feared the worst.

"Ruby, could I talk to you for a bit?" her older sister asked, and Ruby could tell from the tone that this was not going to be a cheerful conversation.

"Um... of course, Dia," Ruby replied. No need to be rude about this. If Dia had figured things out, it was probably best to know.

"I'll be blunt," Dia said right away, folding her arms. "I don't approve of these friends of yours." Ruby hadn't really expected her to, yet somehow it still stung to hear it. "Tsushima-san seems nice enough, but I have a bad feeling about Kunikida-san." She was using her strict voice, so Ruby knew she was completely serious.

To further cement their 'cover', Yohane had come up false names for the two of them. Tsushima Yoshiko, and Kunikida Hanamaru. Maru had said she could just be 'Maru', but Yohane felt it was too simple to pass as a given name. In the end Yohane got her way.

But Yohane was not a very good actor, so she still came off as more mature and serious than most girls Ruby's age would be. Which was probably why Dia liked her more, as they were somewhat similar. It might also have something to do with how Yohane's voice could calm people down, and make them trust her. Though that still wasn't quite enough to completely suppress Dia's protective and suspicious nature.

Maru was a much better actor, to the point where Ruby felt even she'd be fooled if she didn't know better. She could probably fit in at Ruby's school as a student, which was a slightly scary thought. When asked, Maru simply said she knew how to be what she needed to be. Yet she was still essentially her bubbly self, so Ruby wasn't sure if Dia objected to Maru's cheerful, carefree attitude, or she could somehow sense thew demon's true nature.

"Oh..." Ruby said, not being able to think of any other way to respond. She looked away, and rinsed out her juice glass before placing it by the sink.

"You've been behaving weird ever since you introduced them. They're a bad influence," Dia said. Ruby couldn't really deny acting weird, since it was a lot to adjust to. Not just that the two of them weren't human, but also not knowing how to deal with having friends at all. But she wasn't sure where Dia was going with this.

"They're my friends, Dia," Ruby said defensively. This was putting her in a sour mood.

"Well, I don't approve," Dia repeated, sounding quite determined. Ruby turned, and glanced at Dia's dead serious expression.

"I-I don't know what you expect me to do about it," Ruby said. She genuinely felt a little lost here, and looked down at the floor. Even if Dia was just trying to look out for her as usual, this was a really uncomfortable conversation.

Dia paused for a moment. Hadn't she thought that far ahead? "Find better friends," she ended up saying. A silence fell over the room as that sentence was left hanging in the room. Something spilled over inside Ruby.

"W-what?" The thought about not needing to be rude vanished. "Y-you can't be... be serious. You know how... don't you know... you don't..." Ruby was struggling to find the words, and Dia's expression flickered as she was slightly taken aback by Ruby's reaction. "Y-you don't get it. I worked so hard... to make friends... so long... and now that I... that I finally have some... you want me to give them up?" Ruby was starting to tremble, but she wasn't sure if it was because she was angry, or if she was about to cry.

"Ruby, I..." Dia tried to say something, but Ruby wasn't done.

"No. No, I am not going back to being alone again," Ruby said firmly. She could tell she was angry now, and knew she probably shouldn't say these things, but it was like she couldn't stop.

"You're not alone, Ruby. You have me," Dia said. Her tone had changed, gone softer. "And you can make new friends." She also sounded a little helpless, perhaps due to whatever plan she had not going as she had thought it would.

"Dia, you... you don't get it." Ruby was getting increasingly frustrated. "You have friends, you... you know I don't... you can't always be here, and I..." She looked her sister straight in the eyes. "You don't get it. I'm not like you. I can't just..." She gestured randomly with her hands. "I was really lonely... I can't go back to that..." She started stomping back to her room. "You don't... get it," were her final words as she left a speechless Dia behind.

When she got back to her room, she somehow managed to not slam the door. Leaning against it, she was already regretting her words. But maybe it needed to be said. Maybe. She didn't know whether she had actually started crying. She didn't want to check if her face was wet.

"Ruby? Are you okay?" It was Yohane's voice, and Ruby looked up. Maru was nowhere to be seen, but Yohane was still sitting where she had been when Ruby left, with book in hand.

"I'm..." _Maybe there's something else that needs to be said_ , Ruby thought to herself. "Yohane?"

"Yes?" The fallen angel gently closed her book and put it to the side.

"Do... d-do you... hate it here?" Ruby asked. She didn't want to give up her friends, but what if they didn't want to be here? Was it right to force them to stay?

"I wouldn't exactly say that..." Yohane said carefully. She was clearly sensing that something was up. "I suppose it's not entirely my thing," she admitted.

"W-what if I said it... it was okay i-if you wanted to go home?" Ruby asked, not really managing to keep her voice steady.

"Ruby?" Yohane slowly stood up. "What are you saying?" There was a gentleness to the question that was a bit much to handle right now.

"I just..." Ruby wasn't entirely sure herself, but like the conversation with Dia, her mouth seemed to talk without her brain really thinking it over. "I-it's okay if you... want to..." She choked, unable to finish the sentence. Suddenly she was enveloped in a cloak of black feathers, and Yohane was holding her. Hugging her. Ruby was too shocked to react.

"Is it _really_ okay?" Yohane asked pointedly, as if she knew Ruby's true feelings.

Ruby was silent for a while. It felt like a calming effect was being exerted upon her. Similar to Yohane's voice, but stronger. Was that the power of her wings? "No," Ruby finally croaked, clinging onto Yohane's back.

"Then I'm staying," Yohane said, and Ruby couldn't help believing her. Being aware of Yohane's power made Ruby a little unsure if she was being honest, if she was using her influence, or both. But for now she was willing to accept that the fallen angel wasn't lying to her.

Ruby allowed herself to lean against Yohane, and she didn't seem to mind. She wasn't sure how long they stood there until they heard:

"Hey! Are you two cuddling without me, zura?" Maru sounded almost offended, and Ruby opened her eyes to see the demon standing there at the other end of the room. She must have just come back. "That's not fair, zura. I want in!" Maru made her way over to them in a flash, and embraced them both.

"Oy, Zuramaru! You're cramping us here!" Yohane said, as her wing was now trapped by Maru.

"You should have thought of that before you started cuddling, zura," Maru replied cheerfully. She squeezed them both a little tighter.

"At least let me get my wing free," Yohane complained, and struggled. After a moment, Maru relented. Yohane let out a sigh of relief, and folded her wing back. She kept her other wing around Ruby, but didn't want to extend the same to Maru, which made the succubus pout. A compromise was reached where at least Yohane would put her arm around Maru, just for a little bit.

Ruby giggled. She felt better now. Maybe things would work out somehow. Maybe this could last. At least for a while longer.

\---

When it got close to bedtime, Ruby finally left her room again to go brush her teeth. On the floor outside she almost stumbled over a small tray. There were a few pastries on it, some of Ruby's favourites. How long had this been sitting here? Crouching down to pick it up, she noticed there was a card too. It said ' _Ruby_ ' on the front, and she recognised the hand-writing. On the back it just said ' _I'm sorry_ '.

Ruby smiled. She loved her sister, and had been worried about the fallout of her earlier outburst. Perhaps it wasn't as disastrous as she had envisioned. She'd try talking to Dia again, hopefully in a calmer manner. To make up. Not tonight though.

It was a shame she hadn't found these earlier, but she really hadn't wanted to go out. She could probably have one or two before actually going to the bathroom. If they weren't her favourites she could have given them to Maru. Except that also felt wrong considering the sentiment. She decided: She'd have two, then put the rest back so they wouldn't spoil. Those could be saved for tomorrow.

She hummed quietly as she went, definitely feeling a lot better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yohane is a kind soul.


	3. Rooftop Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> School was easier for Ruby now, but she was not prepared to have visitors come check in on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sure you're not interested in the details of why this took so long. Suffice to say, last week was a lot, and I hit a bit of a writer's block.  
> But here it is!  
> I don't dare give any ETA on the next (probably last) chapter, considering everything. But I *hope* it won't take too long.

_After three weeks_ :

It was a funny thing. Ruby hadn't ever particularly thought that she disliked school, even though she had no friends. It was just something she had come to accept as normal. But now that she had someone, it was like her eyes had finally been opened, and she could truly see how miserable she had been. That it was something that shouldn't have been normal.

Things were much easier now. Even being away from Maru and Yohane wasn't so bad, when she knew she would see them again afterwards. They might be terrifying demonic entities, but she still thought of them as her friends, particularly now that she was getting more and more used to them. She had started daring... allowing herself to be happy. Even if it didn't last, she would enjoy it while it did. No one could claim she didn't look at the positive side of things. Or at least tried to. She was determined to have no regrets.

She wondered if her classmates could tell she had changed a little. Assuming anyone paid any attention to her at all. Maybe eventually, after she got enough practice with her angel and demon, she could start being less nervous about talking to other people. Maybe she could make a friend in class, as well.

Immediately a pang of guilt assailed her. She had said she only needed one friend, but had gotten two. Wishing for more would certainly be greedy. Would Maru and Yohane leave if she got a human friend? Would she have to lie to her potential new friend about the two of them? It was a secret no one could know, after all. She'd have to think carefully about this.

Not right now, though. The last class before lunch break was about to begin, and she put her sketchpad back in her bag. She had been doodling her two friends wearing various outfits. Nothing risque, of course. There was a chance someone could see, and she didn't want her reputation to become 'the quiet pervert girl'. Though Maru could probably make anything look risque if she wore it.

Now it was time for social studies, a subject she had gained some extra appreciation for thanks to Yohane. Yohane was always up for having a discussion or giving a small lesson. In fact, Ruby found herself talking to Yohane a lot, about all sorts of things. The fallen angel seemed to know so much, and seemed endlessly patient whenever Ruby had something to tell her about. Maybe Ruby talked too much, but she didn't really have the required experience to be sure. Talking to Dia was probably also not a good indicator, since she was probably also more patient with her sister than anyone else.

Maru was tougher to engage on that conversation level, but the demon was good at listening when Ruby wasn't feeling that well, and knew how to cheer her up. Though of course Maru expected to get to cuddle Ruby in return. That was part of her comforting technique. Ruby wondered if she was a bad girl for enjoying it so much.

Dia had once walked in on them while Maru was hugging Ruby tight and stroking her hair. She hadn't said anything then and there, just closed the door again, but they'd had a little talk later. Not as harsh as the one last week, but Dia clearly still had concerns. Ruby thought they had managed to reach an understanding, and hoped she had eased her sister's worries. At least Dia had started knocking since.

About halfway through class, Ruby thought she could see movement in the corner of her eye. She glanced towards the window, and saw Maru hovering outside. Slowly flapping her wings.

"Uwagh?!" Ruby exclaimed, rather startled. What was Maru doing here? Well, waving at Ruby and grinning was the obvious answer, but why? And why was she wearing what looked like a school uniform?

"Kurosawa-san? Is something wrong?" the teacher suddenly asked, and Ruby quickly looked forwards again. Everyone in class was looking at her, and for once she wished she could disappear.

"Uh, n-no, I just... th-thought I saw a wasp," Ruby quickly lied. The class returned to normal. Ruby was worried someone else would see Maru, but even those she caught looking out the window didn't seem to see her. Then she remembered that the two of them could go invisible. Maru was still out there watching Ruby though, which was rather distracting. She could barely pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but at least managed to write down what was on the blackboard.

As soon as the bell rang, she quickly cleaned up her stuff, grabbed her lunch, and headed for the roof. Maru had flown off a few mins before the end of the class, and she figured the roof would be the most likely spot to find the demon. At least she hoped that was the case.

Ruby was the first person to get up there due to hurrying so much, but others might show up, so she made her way towards a corner while looking around.

"Ruby-chaaannnn~" she heard before she managed to get over there, and suddenly Maru had flown into her. Ruby toppled over with a squeak, but someone caught her.

"Sorry about that." It was Yohane's voice, and Ruby tilted her head back to see the fallen angel's face. "I tried to tell her we shouldn't come here, but she wouldn't give in." Something about her tone of voice made it seem like perhaps she wasn't being entirely honest. Had she been curious about school too?

This had to look strange to anyone happened to see it, if they couldn't see Yohane and Maru. Maru was hugging onto Ruby who was half fallen over, while Yohane held them both up. So it had to just look like Ruby was somehow standing in a very tilted position.

"Oy Zuramaru, get off. Or I'm snatching Ruby away and letting you fall," Yohane said, and to Ruby's surprise Maru's only protest was a dejected look before she let go. Yohane pushed Ruby back upright. The redhead wasn't sure how to react to all this.

"Um... w-what are you doing here?" Ruby asked, figuring that was a good place to start. She had managed to hold onto her lunchbox during the 'attack', and led the two over to a bench so she could sit down. Maru quickly sat down next to her to hug her again. It might be difficult to eat like this.

"We wanted to see what your school was like, zura!" Maru replied cheerfully, rubbing her cheek against Ruby's.

"I'm just here to keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't cause trouble," Yohane said, giving Maru a pointed look. She was still standing up, and occasionally glancing behind her. Maybe checking to see if anyone else was coming onto the roof. Even if they were invisible, Yohane might have her reasons.

"Oohh~? And who was saying 'I wonder how Ruby is doing' earlier, hmmmm?" Maru did a startlingly accurate impression of Yohane.

"I... that was... you're..." Yohane strolled over to the railing, and cleared her throat before leaning against it, looking out over the backside of the school. Ruby thought her cheeks looked slightly pink.

"You see, Ruby-chan," Maru started saying in her sing-song voice. "Yohane gets worried about you when you're away, zura. She's very protective little angel." She sounded like she was very much enjoying telling Ruby this.

"I'm n- that's- I mean... I do, but... also, that's fallen angel!" Yohane protested, though not exactly vehemently. She sounded very flustered. Maybe Ruby should intervene.

"Um, Maru-chan?" Ruby said to get her attention. "Why are you wearing a school uniform?" Maru grinned wide at the question, and hopped to her feet.

"Do you like it?" Maru turned around a couple of times to show it off. It looked like this school's uniform, and seemed to confirm that Maru could make anything look risque if she wore it. "I'm going to be a transfer student in your class, zura!" she declared happily.

"No, she's not. Don't listen to her," Yohane cut in before Ruby even had time to process Maru's words. "She just got some weird ideas after reading the books under your bed." Ruby blinked rapidly as her brain struggled with which thing to tackle first. The books under her bed? Ah! Her slice-of-life manga collection? They found those? Oh no. The embarrassment was making Ruby blush. She was hiding those so Dia wouldn't see them. There's no way her sister could be allowed to know.

"Aw, why not, zura?" Maru pouted at Yohane. She genuinely seemed into the idea, and she could probably manage to pass herself off as a teenager too. That might be the scariest part.

Imagining Yohane in a school uniform was an even stranger thought. She was dressed as normal today, that was to say in one of her multitude of dark dresses. Ruby had no idea how many she had, as new ones kept showing up regularly. While some of them looked similar enough that Ruby couldn't be entirely sure they were indeed different, there was a surprising amount of variation that could be pulled off with shades of black and purple, some white for contrast, and various accentuating extras.

Ruby idly wondered whether the halo made it harder to get dressed. She was honestly not sure how solid it was, and she hadn't worked up the nerve to ask.

"I'm not letting you hang around with a bunch of human children," Yohane stated quite definitively. It didn't seem like she would budge on this one. "One is enough."

Ruby realised that meant her, and now it was her time to pout. "I'm not a child," she mumbled, but it didn't seem like either of them heard her.

"Ah, come on. You could join us too, zura!" Maru tried to convince Yohane, but with how cheerful she sounded, it was as always a bit hard to tell how seriously she was taking this. She could just be teasing.

"Absolutely not!" Yohane said, and actually stomped her foot for emphasis. Ruby had been thinking earlier about having a friend in class, so maybe this was a 'careful what you wish for' kind of scenario.

She tried to imagine what it would be like if those two were in her class. They were smart, capable, charismatic, attractive, not afraid to talk to people. Not like Ruby at all. Everyone would think it was weird if they were friends with someone like her. Perhaps they would think the same, and find someone better suited to be friends with. If they had a choice, why would they pick her...

"...by? Ruby?" Ruby got roused from her thoughts by Yohane talking to her, and looking a little concerned at her. She must have completely zoned out. "Are you okay?" the fallen angel asked, bending down to get a closer look at Ruby's face.

"Oh... um... I-I'm fine," Ruby stammered, blushing a little. Both at how she had spaced out, and at how closely those pink eyes were examining her.

"Are you sure?" Yohane asked as she gently placed a hand on Ruby's forehead. "You seem a little warm. Do you want us to take you home? Or use healing magic on you?" Maru was giggling in the background, which was just making Ruby feel even more embarrassed. Yohane really reminded her of Dia sometimes.

"N-no, that's okay. I'll be fine," Ruby said quickly, and smiled at Yohane. Embarrassing or not, it was nice to have someone worry. Sometimes. Not too often.

"Well, you should at least eat your lunch," Yohane said, and straightened back up. Ruby had sort of forgot she had her lunchbox in her lap. "Humans need to be fed regularly, and you're still a growing girl." Something about her tone made Ruby wonder if she should be offended. Was Yohane making fun of how short Ruby was?

"I can feed you, zura!" Maru said enthusiastically, sitting back down next to Ruby. She skillfully unwrapped the lunchbox, popped the lid off, and before Ruby could even think to protest, an octopus sausage had been stuffed between her lips.

She quickly chewed and swallowed it. "Maru-chan, I can eat on my own," Ruby said, but Maru was already holding up an eggroll for her.

"Yeah, but it's more fun this way, zura~" the demon said cheerfully. She was smiling so wide her fangs were impossible to miss. Did she ever bite anyone with those... no, this wasn't the time to think about such things!

"But I-" Ruby tried to protest.

"No buts, zura! Just aaaahhhh," Maru said, pushing the food closer to Ruby's mouth. Yohane let out a small sigh as she sat down on the other side of Ruby, but she didn't intervene. Perhaps it was fine to let Maru have her way this time. Ruby opened her mouth, and Maru's eyes twinkled happily as she guided the food in.

Maru seemed delighted to keep going, so Ruby just went along with it. It was a little slower than just eating herself, and it's not like she enjoyed being treated as a kid, but they still had time. And Maru looked happy.

"Is school going okay?" Yohane asked once the feeding was complete, and Ruby looked at her.

"Huh? Um... yeah, I guess so," Ruby said. Things were certainly going better than they had been before these two came along. Not just because she was feeling better, but she thought she was doing better in class too. Not that she had any results to base than on yet. Any changes in her grades would take a little while longer to show. But it _felt_ easier.

"Are the other kids mean to you?" Yohane asked next, and Ruby blinked a little. Where did that come from? Wait, had she read the manga too? Some of those stories dealt with bullying, but Ruby didn't have that problem. No one paid any notice to her, not even to bully her. So perhaps her anonymity was both a blessing and a curse.

"Uh, no. Nothing like that," Ruby replied. "It's... erm... no." She hadn't actually told them the full story of why she ended up asking them to be her friends. The real reason behind why she had turned to demon summoning. She was afraid they would think she was pathetic.

"Well, if anyone bothers you, you be sure to tell us, zura," Maru said. "And we'll go scare some sense into them, zura!" Her bubbly tone really didn't match the gravity of what she was saying. Ruby had to wonder if it was possible to literally scare someone to death.

"Yeah, we can- w-wait, no! We can't do that, Zuramaru!" Yohane sounded like she was about to agree before quickly correcting herself. "That is absolutely against the rules!" Yeah, Ruby figured as much. "We'd be recalled and reprimanded! You don't want to leave, do you?" Wait, was Yohane worried about leaving?

Maru waved her hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. Lily is quite understanding, I'm sure she'd see it as justified," she said. Ruby wondered who Lily was. Their boss?

"Understanding? She tore someone's wings off for failing a delivery." Yohane did not agree with Maru's point of view.

"Yeah, but she let them grow back. That's more than can be said for other Lords," Maru said with absolute conviction. Ruby had to wonder whether she was supposed to hear this. It sounded rather grisly.

"She cut your horns down," Yohane said pointedly. Her tone seemed a mix of annoyance of Maru's attitude, and indignation at what had happened.

"To be fair, I deserved it," Maru said, though she reached up to gingerly touch her horns. "Besides, they've mostly grown back." Ruby looked up. So they were supposed to be even larger?

Yohane sighed deeply, and gave up on arguing. "Whatever," she said. The atmosphere was a little awkward now.

Thankfully it was time for Ruby to go back, which broke the silence. Maru insisted on one more hug before she headed back, and then they went back home while Ruby headed back down to the classroom. That definitely felt like information Ruby hadn't been supposed to hear, and it made her a little worried about her friends. It hit her again how very little she understood about their lives. But maybe it was also a sign that they were growing closer. She wanted to be optimistic, even when it was hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really hadn't originally intended to drop any new names into this, but it just happened. I absolutely won't give any promises about Lily or other demons showing up. Though I suppose that would be a very anime thing.  
> I was also tempted to just say "manga collection" without any further qualifiers, but it didn't feel right to insinuate that Ruby might be collecting hentai.


	4. Day At The Zoo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dia has invited the three of them to go to the zoo, and both Maru and Yohane exhibit more interest than Ruby expected. Giving Dia and Ruby a little time together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to have kept you waiting! With everything else out of the way, it's time to wrap up Daily Demon Dealings with the fourth and final chapter. There's been some bad timing on my part, and end of the month tends to get rather busy, especially around the time a new anime season starts up.
> 
> But here it is: The end. For now. As always I shall make no promises, but any series I get new ideas for I have no problem revisiting. But for now I don't really have more I want to do with this setting.
> 
> Going forward I might just get my new ideas from watching Sunshine Season 2, so who knows what that will turn into.

_After four weeks_ :

Dia had invited them to go to the zoo. Ruby was initially worried Maru and Yohane wouldn't be interested, but Maru seemed quite excited, and Yohane said she might as well come along. If she was excited, she was doing the thing where she was acting like she wasn't. So now the four of them were here.

Dia paid for entry for all of them, probably with money she had gotten from their mother, if Ruby was to guess. They had picked a slow day, since Dia was aware of how bad Ruby was with crowds. Ruby didn't feel as nervous as she normally would, though. Maybe she felt safer with having three people she knew there, or maybe being around her two friends from the underworld had made her more used to people in general.

Maru was practically bouncing with excitement over all the animals everywhere. She had told Ruby that it had been a while since she had spent more than a couple of days on Earth, so she had never actually visited a proper, modern zoo.

Ruby wondered if Maru could get the energy she kept talking about from cuddling animals too, or whether it had to be from humans. The stories of succubi that she had seen suggested it had to be humans, but that was always about the... er... sexual stuff they did. Ruby's ears turned a slight pink just from thinking about it. Nothing had talked about a succubus like Maru, so there was the possibility that most of the stuff she had seen was entirely speculation and fantasies. Or maybe Maru was unique. That was entirely believable.

She also wondered whether the animals saw Maru and Yohane's true forms, or if they were fooled by the illusion. At least there were no signs of panic among the animals, so either the illusion worked, or they just weren't bothered by demons. Humans were probably more dangerous to them, come to think of it.

Yohane had stopped in front of the alpaca enclosure. It looked like she was enthralled by them, and her halo also indicated keen interest. Ruby had sort of learned to read it, at least a little bit. It was sometimes a better way of reading Yohane's mood than looking at how she was behaving. Maybe she liked soft, fluffy things. Ruby's plushies certainly seemed to move around while Ruby was away. She had assumed it was Maru's doing, but maybe she had to reconsider that.

Maru's excitement got the best of her, and she said something about going to look for the lions before she zoomed off. That seemed to snap Yohane out of it, and she hurried after Maru. Probably to make sure she didn't cause any trouble. Leaving Ruby and Dia on their own. Ruby couldn't help smiling though. It was fun seeing this different side to her friends. They hadn't really gone out together much yet. Might as well let them have their fun.

The two sisters figured they'd go look at the monkeys before heading over to the penguins. The four of them had already agreed on a meeting point if they ended up separated, and it's not like the park was that big anyway. The angel and demon really stood out, especially to Ruby, so they should be easy to spot.

"You really have changed," Dia suddenly said, though Ruby didn't detect any condemnation in her voice.

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked, glancing over at her sister. They reached the monkey enclosure, and stopped there for a bit.

"You seem happier," Dia answered. There was something strange to her tone that Ruby couldn't pinpoint though. "Mother's noticed it too. She seemed rather relieved. I'm not the only one who worries, you know."

Ruby smiled. "I know," she said softly. Ruby had always gotten on better with Dia than with their mother. It wasn't that she disliked her mother, but Ruby wasn't always sure how to talk to her. In many ways she was a very traditional woman, and could come across as rather strict. That's probably where Dia got it from. Ruby had at times felt so out of place and unlike the two of them that she had wondered whether she was adopted. And her father seemed rather distant to Ruby, even though Dia insisted he wasn't. She said he just had a lot of responsibilities.

But even though they might have some communication issues, Ruby didn't doubt that her mother cared.

"And your grades have kept up, so... I suppose they're not a bad influence," Dia said, obviously reluctant and loathe to admit that she had been wrong.

Ruby had to giggle, and looked away from the monkeys towards Dia. "I'm happy to hear you say that," she said. While Dia could be very headstrong, she was rarely completely unreasonable. If she was proven wrong, she would come around. At least eventually. Though it tended to take her even longer to admit she had come around.

Dia patted Ruby on the head, prompting another giggle. "I'll still be keeping an eye out for you, though. You can come to me whenever, if something bad happens," Dia said, in a very clear tone.

Ruby wasn't entirely sure what Dia meant by 'bad', but she nodded anyway. "Okay," she said. With all the time she had spent with Maru and Yohane in the past month, she had sort of forgotten how nice it could be to just hang with her sister and talk. There had been less of that since Dia spent more time with her own friends, which was part of why Ruby had become lonely enough to turn desperate. She couldn't blame Dia for it, though. They both had their own lives now, but they were still sisters.

As they turned away to start walking towards the penguins, Ruby thought she spotted Maru in the distance, zooming off towards somewhere. Maybe it was just her imagination. While Ruby took out her water bottle to have a sip, Dia chose that moment to speak up again.

"So, are you and Kunikida-san... er... you know..." Dia halfway asked.

Ruby paused a little. "Hm? What?" she asked back, not sure what Dia was getting at.

"You know... are you together? Going out? Dating?" Dia finished asking, and Ruby nearly choked. She managed to painfully swallow the water, and coughed a couple of times before she could answer.

"W-w-wh-what?" was the best she could come up with. Her and Maru, dating? What?

"Well, you seem very close," Dia went on saying. "And since I walked in on you... well, I've been wondering." Ruby couldn't believe what Dia was saying, and also not how casual she sounded about it. If she had imagined such a scenario, she would have expect outrage or disgust from Dia. Not just casual concern.

"What? N-no, of course not," Ruby quickly said. This had taken her entirely by surprise, and she really wasn't sure what to say.

"Hmmm..." Dia didn't seem entirely convinced, and was giving Ruby a disbelieving look. "Have you kissed yet?" she asked next, and Ruby wondered if it was possible to literally die from embarrassment.

"Dia, please," Ruby squeaked. "I-it's not like that, we're just friends." Sure, maybe she had sometimes thought about... things. Maru was a beautiful, other-wordly woman. Anyone would be a little tempted, right? "Nothing more," Ruby added as her final note.

"Would you tell me if there was more?" Dia asked with a smirk, and slight cunning to her voice.

"Um..." Ruby hadn't really thought that far, so she wasn't sure. Was she the type to tell her sister about her relationships? Even as close as they were? It wasn't something she had ever had cause to consider.

"Say then, that _if_ you were dating, there's some things I want you to be aware of," Dia said, as if she was about to give a lecture. "Make sure you understand each other, and your boundaries. If she suggests something you're not comfortable with, don't be afraid to say no. And be firm about it. Also you shouldn't..." Dia kept going, as if she had practised this little speech beforehand.

"Oh goooooods," Ruby bemoaned quietly. She couldn't believe Dia was giving her The Talk. And at the zoo, of all places! What if someone overheard her? Ruby was mortified.

They reached the penguins, but Dia still wasn't done. Ruby was hoping the earth would open up and swallow her. Maybe Yohane could actually arrange that. _Please save me_ , Ruby thought desperately.

"... and make sure you're both truly ready before you take things any further. Okay?" Dia seemed like she was finally done. And clearly expecting a response.

Ruby wasn't sure if she had ever blushed this hard in her entire life. Nothing Maru had done could come close to the embarrassment she was feeling right now. She gave her sister a helpless look. "Dia, I..." What could she even say?

"Do you want me to go over it again?" Dia asked. While her cheeks were also tinged with pink, it seemed like she might actually be enjoying this. Had she decided this on her own, or had someone talked her into it? Had mother... no, absolutely not. There was no world in which Ruby could imagine that.

"N-no!" Ruby blurted out hastily. "I... I got it. Just please... stop." She stared down into the water around the edge of the penguin enclosure. Probably even the penguins could tell how was Ruby was feeling, so she didn't dare look at them yet.

Mercifully Dia let it end there. "Good," was all she said, in a self-satisfied tone.

With that over, Ruby could slowly start to cool down again. Why had this happened? Ruby, Maru, and Yohane were just friends. It was all they were ever going to be. All she wanted them to be...

Sure, she vividly remembered the time Maru had offered to kiss her. But who wouldn't? Yohane said Maru had special seduction techniques that Ru- that humans couldn't resist. Sure, Maru was really soft and smooth, and Ruby kinda wanted to touch her more, but Ruby really liked soft things. Just look at all the plushies she had. That really didn't mean Ruby would ever think, would ever want, anything more than friendship.

Yohane would get it. She knew what Maru was like. Yohane was also really beautiful, but it wasn't like Ruby stared at her or thought about her all the time. She was just nice, and easy to talk to. Plus her hair looked like a princess's, and her wings were really-

 _Wait, no no no, hang on. Stop it_. Ruby was already busy denying wanting anything more than friendship with one of them, she couldn't handle them both.

The sisters met up with the fallen angel and demon again as it was getting time to leave again.

"Did you have fun?" Ruby asked them.

"Yeah!" Maru seemed like she might be a little over-stimulated. "You can really get parrots to repeat almost anything, zura." Ruby wasn't sure if she actually wanted to know what Maru had taught them.

"She wanted to take an armadillo with her. I had to tear her away from trying to talk to a zookeeper," Yohane said. She sounded a little tired, but she didn't seem unhappy.

"Zura. Yohane's no fun," Maru said, and pouted a little.

"Why an armadillo?" Dia was the one to ask, though Ruby probably would have too if she hadn't been beaten to it.

"They're cute, zura!" Maru said with a big smile, and Yohane sighed a little. Ruby didn't really see it.

"By the way, why do you call her Yohane?" Dia asked once they had gotten out of the park.

"Huh? Because..." Maru thought it over for a second. Maybe she had been on the verge of telling the truth. "It's just a nickname, zura," she answered cheerfully, then lowered her voice in a conspiratorial manner. "You see, Yohane has a secret, she-"

Yohane quickly clamped her hands in front of Maru's mouth. "Not another word!"

\---

They parted ways at the station, Maru and Yohane pretending to go home, while Ruby and Dia actually went home.

After getting into her room, Ruby was barely able to close the door before Maru pounced on her.

"Ruby-chaaaan~" she said in a whiny tone. "I need cuddles right now. I have run dangerously low, zura." She hugged Ruby tight, effectively squashing the short redhead into her cleavage.

Ruby was barely able to keep her balance. And she noticed that Yohane wasn't anywhere in the room. Was that good or bad? "Ma-Maru-chan, can you at least let me sit down?" she asked. Ruby was allowed to sit on the bed before Maru glomped onto her again. She really did seem clingier than usual.

"Did you truly have fun today?" Ruby asked. It hadn't seem like Maru was faking it earlier, but for some reason she wanted to make sure.

"Yup! I love animals, zura. Almost as much as I love cuddling you~" Maru answered, and rubbed her cheek against Ruby's for emphasis. Ruby still figured she was probably exaggerating.

They settled into their usual form of Ruby leaning against Maru, while Maru was being touchy-feely. Not in a lewd way, just petting and snuggling.

"Hm... you know..." Maru spoke up after a few minutes. "You don't seem to blush as much as you used to, zura. It takes longer to charge myself up," she said, and Ruby didn't know what she meant by that. Did she feed off of Ruby's embarrassment? "Maybe I should start doing more embarrassing things to you, zura~" She sounded delighted at the prospect.

"Ah, no!" Ruby said really quickly. Just the thought of what that might be was absolutely making her blush. "P-please don't..."

Maru giggled softly. Which still had a melodic, alluring ring to it. "Alright, alright." She played gently with Ruby's hair, as if to reassure her. "I can think of another option, zura. Maybe you could be more active? You almost always just lie there, zura." That was absolutely true. "I am more than happy to cuddle you, but maybe you could cuddle me back more, zura?" When Maru put it like that, Ruby couldn't deny that their current arrangement sounded a little unfair.

"I... um..." Ruby still hesitated a little. It felt like a big decision, even though all she was doing was returning the favour. Dia's words from earlier echoed in her mind: 'make sure you're both truly ready'. There was no doubt Maru was, but was Ruby?

Being cuddled felt nice, and it was only fair to share that experience. Even if it meant touching Maru a lot. It would still just be as friends! Friends cuddled. Probably. They did in manga. But what if it led to other things? What if Ruby actually... but she could always stop if she wanted to. And Yohane would help if Maru tried to... er... seduce Ruby. "Okay," she said finally, and Maru brightened up considerably.

Her hands were shaking a little. Where was it okay to touch? The thought that Maru would probably like it anywhere wasn't helping. Where would it just be friendly affection, and where would it be... more? Just staying away from anywhere that could be considered lewd was probably good enough. Though one could argue that Maru as a whole could be considered lewd.

Dammit, she was overthinking this. She shifted herself around so she was able to embrace Maru. The locks of Maru's hair tickled Ruby's fingers as she reached around the back. Maru touched Ruby's hair all the time, so it was probably fine to do the same. The wings she was more unsure of. _I'll figure it out as I go_ , she thought.

Maru was making a sound similar to a purr, which made Ruby smile. Making a friend happy was a good thing.


End file.
